Just thinking, that's all...

Another early start with more work on the synopsis. I know it’s taking a while to get it in place, but I also know how important it is to get everything right. Fingers crossed I can put it to bed soon.

Hit the gym around 12:30. Had a good workout. Went grocery shopping afterward and picked up some fresh veggies for soup. Riffing here. Threw together something not quite vegetable beef, not quite minestrone. Hope it turns out okay. Guess we’ll see in a little bit.

Figure to go fishing again on Friday. See if I can’t get my head untwisted. Might drive down to the Arkansas, try and tie into a couple of brown down there. If nothing else, the drive’ll be pretty.

Sepich book on Blood Meridian is good. Appendix a treasure trove. Makes me want to start the novel all over again.

The long and winding road...

Up, out to the cottage, and at the keyboard by 5:00.

Sent off the spots I’d been working on yesterday, caught up on some correspondence, tweaked the synopsis, and cleaned the office. Got a text from D up in Alaska while I was writing him a letter. Sent a pick of a giant salmon he’d just caught. Looked like fun.

Wish I could say I had a more productive day, but it feels like I came up short. Been feeling that way for a while. Think it’s because I haven’t started any new stories for a while. Have two in my head, but need to get them on paper.

Reading an historical analysis of Blood Meridian. Pretty interesting by most accounts. Hadn’t realized how heavily Chamberlain’s ride with Glanton figured into the text. Gonna have to dig a little deeper when I get the time.

Facetimed with Jackie tonight when I got home from the gym. What a treat. Been missing him and his little brother quite a bit. We did kind of a free range call with him walking through the house, traipsing around outside…. All big fun. He asked when we were coming out, and warned me the water there wasn’t as good as it is in Colorado. Out of the mouths of babes, right? Never wanted to get on an airplane so bad in my life.

Cool, quiet evening. it’s beginning to feel like fall might come after all.

It's Monday, right?

Up later than usual—6:00—but had a good night’s sleep, so no complaints.

Put in work on the GS synopsis, then went at the new commercial stuff until I had a couple of solid drafts.

K came with notes on the long piece. Had a good sit-down with some interesting back and forths. Looking forward to getting the bits and pieces in place.

Made a brief trip to the gym, but left early to come home and finish the spots I was working on. Day’s already gone and it feels like it just started.

Falling behind on correspondence. Need to get a critique off to JH, too.

Missed a call from Jackie.

Gotta get organized.

Yeah, we're okay...

Off the grid for a while.

Packed up the fly rod and hit the south Platte yesterday. Skies were overcast, but it was warm up high and the fishing was good. Must have caught seven trout, brown and rainbow, and released all but three. Day got prettier as it went along. Had a nice time, even with all the traffic getting there.

Noodling with the synopsis for GS. Trying to condense it. Making headway, but haven’t pushed myself to finish it yet. Feels good to relax, not worry about deadlines. They’ll come again soon enough.

Heard from K today, saying she liked the read. Who knows, maybe it’s got a future? Hope so. Meanwhile, have to stick with the business at hand. Push forward.

Face-timed with Jack this morning. Seeing his face, hearing his voice, was what I needed. He seemed so happy. Wish Matty would have been around, but that’ll come. Gotta give it time. I keep trying to look at this from a distance to gain some kind of aesthetic perspective but it isn’t working yet. Hopes up it’ll happen soon.

The days blend, don’t they?

Here’s to tomorrow.

A week without...

Nice, easy morning.

Wrote a little, then spent an hour with R going over the long ms. Glad to have had her as the first reader. Lucky, actually. She brought it when I didn’t think there was much left to bring.

Put in on a new commercial project and made some nice headway, then went off to the gym. Didn’t have a whole lot going today, but saw it through just the same. Came home afterward and finished cleaning the flower pots at C and D’s place and hauling them away.

Think maybe I’ll go fishing tomorrow.

The South Platte.

Got a new short in mind and need time to think about it. Day on the water might be nice. Same with a trout dinner, providing I can get lucky.

Missing my boys.

Yeah.

Pressure. Atmospheric and otherwise...

Feels like zero gravity, every step an uncertainty. It’s not bad, just different. Got up early and went back to work on the marketing materials I need: synopsis, in particular. Not sure I wrote anything worthwhile, but I wrote and that was enough for the time being. Things will work themselves out.

Had a good long session at the gym, then drove across town to the glasses repair man who told me he couldn’t put my good frames together again owing to some kind of heated titanium problem. Guess I’ll have to default to superglue as I’m not ready to toss them in the dumper.

Found out the boys had called to Facetime while I was away. Why am I not surprised?

Tired. Bone tired and hoping for a nice long sleep. Haven’t written a damned thing worth reading in a week, and need to turn things around. Gotta find the sweet spot between pushing and waiting.

Elephant on the chest.

Hoping it’ll go away

Getting by...

So, here we are.

Managed to get started on the new life without grandkids and, with the exception of a few fits and starts, made it to the end of the day.

Up early, as always. Put in some time on a query letter and synopsis, then ran off to the tire store to see about warranty issues with the less-than-year old BF Goodrich blowout. After, lit out for the gym.

Still feeling wrung out, but have been there before and know how to wait it out. The bronchial infection’s still sitting hard on my lungs, so that can’t be helping either.

Got home and cut the lawns (I’m up to three, now, with Caitlin and Drew’s) then kicked back with a nice long shower.

Some new commercial work coming in. Happy for that. Gonna rest and take it easy tonight. Try and have a good day tomorrow.

Back in Dodge...

Home.

Easy trip back.

Casper’s the perfect town for a writer to stop and visit and take notes. The food is mostly awful (in large portions), everyone drives a pickup truck (diesel, many in much better shape than your own), all the news outlets are dialed to FOX, and the future (as seen on television) seems a long, long, long way away. But aside from all of that, the land is beautiful and full of heartbreak.

Wish things had gone better, but they hadn’t. Maybe next year.

Last night in Casper...

Up early on a three hour drive to the cabin this morning to batten down the back door. Cool up there, and pretty, but wasn’t prepared to spend any time other than the few hours to make the repair. Anyway, place is safely locked up until next spring when some real maintenance can take place. Snow’s probably only a few weeks off now.

Blew the front driver’s side tire on the truck while barreling west at 70 mph on highway 20. Damned near rolled. Managed to get to the shoulder and stop, so some good luck there. That, and having some extra tools along. Had to use a hand-wrench and WD40 to loosen the stupid lug holding the jack in place. Was on the way out to the ranch house, but scrubbed the trip with no other spare. Good news in all of this was that the blown tire wasn’t yet a year old, so the replacement’s on BF Goodrich tomorrow.

Going out do dinner soon. Been a tiring trip, which isn’t much of a surprise. Leaving for home tomorrow, an whatever that brings. Good having some time to reflect, regroup. Hoping for a quiet evening, and an uneventful trip back to the Springs.

Gone...

Nice evening with the boys. Thomas the Tank Engine. Kipling.

Woke at 6:00, early breakfast, a morning of bug hunting that produced two stone-size snails and herd of slugs.

Things got hard after lunch, but no need to relive it. They’re off now to Pittsburgh, and things have hit bottom. Tomorrow, Wyoming.

Late afternoon...

Putting in an early post.

Spent most of the morning looking after Matty. Fishing in the baby pool, collecting bugs, drawing at the kitchen table…

Didn’t sleep too well last night. Woke from a bad dream and never quite made it back. Didn’t make it to the gym, either.

Boys are spending the night. Last one in a while. Gonna make the most of it, then move on. Start living again.

Meanwhile, there’s a farewell potluck at the pre-school.

The here and now...

Slept in a little later this morning after a halfway decent night’s sleep. Up at six to start working on query and synopses drafts. Research new markets for some of the short pieces. Discovered that, in addition to waiting more than a year for eleven rejections, I have seventeen additional submissions that are still under consideration. God, I hope that isn’t going to become a trend. And yet, with those numbers, I guess it already is a trend.

Have a new short in my head I want to get down on paper before I lose it. Maybe tomorrow before Matty arrives. We’ll see what sort of time come my way.

The boys spend the night tomorrow. Last time until we visit them in Pittsburgh. Don’t know how we’ll make it through the night, but we will. Once they leave, we’ll have no choice but to regroup and move on. In that one small way, I’ll be glad to see them go.

Made it back to the gym again, at last. Didn’t have a lot of energy, despite being juiced (doctor’s orders). The will was there, but the breath, unfortunately, wasn’t. Even so, a decent workout and happy for it.

Got a ping-back from Dylan today. He’s on his way to Alaska. Sounds nice. Me, I’m ready for the drive to Wyoming—just to drive, if nothing else.

Here we are...

Another crummy night’s sleep. Got up around 6:30, but didn’t do much other than pound down a couple of cups of coffee before my doc appointment.

Guess this infection was as bad as it seemed. Told me next stop is emergency room if I don’t get things under control. Anyway, got some new meds to clear things up, and a nebulizer for backup. Took a nap this afternoon with the baby, and felt a little better when I woke. Tried playing a little ball with Jackie late in the day, but still had a difficult time finding my breath. Gonna have to wait this one out, I guess.

Burned a couple of reader copies of the ms. today, and passed one off to Robin. Guess I’ll have to stop calling it the “long piece” now that it’s officially in circulation. Glad to have it out of my hands for a while. On to outline, synopsis, query, etc.

Too much to think about at the moment. Gotta start looking ahead. Taking advantage of the time in front.

More later. Hoping for a good night’s sleep.

Stuck with what it is...

Slept for beans last night, and finally got up because I couldn’t breathe lying down. This cold’s as bad as the last one. Can only hope it ends sooner.

Closer and closer on the revisions. Just wish my head was clearer, so I could make a better evaluation of them. Regardless, looks as though I’ll have a reader copy in a day or two.

Boys came over for a mid-afternoon visit while the house was shown. Had a nice time with them. They’re both down with colds, too—no surprise there—but in pretty good good spirits even so.

Not sure what to think anymore, except not to think about anything I can’t control. Come Friday, the world will start making its own rules. Until then, we’ve got what we’ve got. Each other, and nothing else.

So...

Up at 4:00 and never managed to get back to sleep. No surprise, I guess. Hit the keyboard around 5:30, but came up short of where I wanted to be with the revisions. Maybe tomorrow.

Think maybe I picked up J’s cold. Not feeling very well. Gonna try and bed down earlier tonight. See if I can’t get ahead of things this time.

More later.

Doldrums...

Another early rise.

Warm this morning, and muggy. Looking out the cottage window at rain right now, so it was all day in the brewing. Wish the grass would make a comeback, but too much damage may have been done earlier in the month. Might have to have another fall seeding.

Other things to worry about at the moment.

Happy it’s Friday.

Taking inventory...

Long day for sure.

Up early (yeah, it’s staying darker, later) for an hour or so at the keyboard, then spent rest of the day goofing off with Matty.

He was a real sweet pea today. Great mood. He’s developed a strange interest in the Titanic over the past few weeks, and likes to run through the details of its sinking at length. Not sure what the fascination is, but he’s an intent little student.

Didn’t make it to the gym today. Stayed home instead to work on the long piece. I’m thinking, maybe, when the reader copies are out and the boys are gone, I’ll dust off my belly-boat again and hit Catamount Lake with my fly rod. Be fun to spend the day floating around. Doing nothing.

Party in the park after school tomorrow. Jackie’s last hurrah. Monday, Matty’s birthday. Friday…many farewells.

A bit of this, and a bit of that...

Got a nice note from my buddy, G, this morning. He’s on some island in BC pitching a new series. Concept is top drawer. Hope he has the luck with it he deserves.

Spent the morning running back through the last round of revisions on the long piece, and found remarkably little to hate. Hope the luck continues on that way. If it does, I may be burning a few reader copies come the weekend.

Official word came in today. Boys are shipping out next Friday morning. Jack’s going away party is in the park on Friday, Matty’s birthday is Monday, and the rest will be what it will be.

Looking at next Saturday as departure time for Wyoming. Gonna be a brief visit this time, mostly for repairs, but the drive will be good given everything else going on.

Nothing new under the sun...

Young M and I have bonded on a new level. Turns out his true vocation is construction. Woke early and wrote for an hour or two, then retired to the garage with him where we drilled, sawed, hammered, pulled staples, set screws and removed bolts with a crescent wrench—an operation that consumed much of the morning.

Stuck around the house all day, but managed to get off the last of my N critiques in the process. So I’m home free for a while, and with any luck unencumbered enough to move closer to the end of the long piece.

Took the baby for a wagon ride around one. Weather was hot, but tolerable in the shade. Haven’t been out of the house since.

Not sure where the days are going, but they’re piling up fast. Look forward to getting back to they gym tomorrow and maybe getting a haircut afterward. Something different.

Need to find my way into some new stories. A new novel, maybe. Can’t seem to find as much time to read as I’d like, and been too tired to do much at night, either, when I go to bed. Hot weather’s made me lazy.